Antioch professor receives New York Association of Black Journalists Award

Kevin McGruder, associate professor of history at Antioch College, was honored by the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ) for his book Race and Real Estate in Harlem New York (Columbia U. Press, 2017).

The NYABJ Awards honor excellence in journalism created by and centering on the African diaspora in and around the media capital of the world. The purpose of the awards is to honor dedicated, hardworking individuals for the work that they do and give them the recognition many deserve, yet rarely receive.

Winners will be acknowledged at the NYABJ General Body Meeting at CBS which will be held November 28, 2018, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The acknowledgements will take place following NYABJ chapter business on the agenda as a finale for the chapter’s last general body meeting of 2018.

McGruder also met the producer of “Cultural Caravan,” an online series as well as available on cable in New York, to discuss his research. “When she heard about my book, she asked to interview me on camera,” he explains. The book looks at Harlem real estate from 1890-1920 and the ways African Americans used real estate to gain ownership of the community. In his interview, he also was to reflect on connections to Harlem in the present. “Because I worked in Harlem for 25 years,” he adds, “she wanted me to think about this story with how Harlem is today. What’s different about the changes now?”

Having worked in real estate and owned businesses, McGruder brings that personal perspective to his book talks. He also emphasizes that many people talk about current changes in their neighborhoods pricing them out, which leads to larger issues. “The longer range issue is community formation,” McGruder explains. “How do you have a thriving community when people who have good jobs can’t afford to live there, and what does that say about our future?”